THAILAND: QUEEN CALLS FOR UNITY AND VIGILANCE IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 002837

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/BCLTV
PACOM FOR FPA (HUSO)

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/23/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER TH
SUBJECT: THAILAND: QUEEN CALLS FOR UNITY AND VIGILANCE IN
THE FACE OF CONTINUING SOUTHERN VIOLENCE

REF: 04 BANGKOK 8067

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert J. Clarke. Reason 1.4 (d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: On April 23 Queen Sirikit delivered a
strongly worded nationally televised address calling for an
end to the violence in southern Thailand. She urged all
Thais to work with the government against persons responsible
for recent killings and bombings, saying the violence
threatens the economic livelihood of the entire country. The
remarks were delivered at the Royal Palace in Bangkok in
front of a large gathering of Village Scouts and other
representatives of nationalist civil defense groups. This
speech follows emotional remarks delivered by the Queen on
November 16, 2004, where she called for peace in the South,
but suggested that direct action needed to be taken to
protect the local Buddhist population. END SUMMARY


2. (C) On April 23 Queen Sirikit gave a stern, at times
passionate, 40-minute speech from the Chitralada Royal Palace
in Bangkok on the violence in southern Thailand. Her
remarks, broadcast simultaneously nationwide by all of
Thailand's television stations, were delivered in front of
nearly 1,200 members of the Village Scouts and members of
other voluntary civil defense organizations from across the
country. After delivering the remarks she was heard telling
Privy Councilor Surayudh Shulanont that "His Majesty wanted
to say this, but feared it would be too strong, so he asked
me to speak instead."


3. (SBU) In her remarks, the Queen said that Thais should
not "sit idly by" while violence escalated. She called for
Thais to unite in a common effort against those responsible
for southern violence, saying that citizens shouldn't expect
the government alone to solve the problem. She stressed that
she was not asking for Thai citizens to take up arms, but was
calling for all Thais to work with the government and serve
as "eyes and ears" for security forces. The Queen, echoing
recent statements by Prime Minister Thaksin and other RTG
officials, suggested non-violent methods be used to restore
peace in the South.


4. (SBU) The Queen focused much of her remarks on the
potential the violence had to harm the national economy. She
twice mentioned the April 13 triple bombings in Songkhla that
targeted important commercial symbols, including the
international airport and a western-owned retailer. She
warned that the violence could scare away foreign tourists
and investors, impacting the entire nation. She noted that
the continued violence could have a far more negative impact
on Thailand's economy than the December 26, 2004 tsunami
disaster. "It will affect the tourism industry and the
economy could collapse."


5. (U) The government's response was, predictably,
complimentary of the Queen, with officials promising to heed
her advice. Prime Minister Thaksin praised the Queen's
remarks, saying that Thais, "should take the Queen's words to
heart, and cooperate with Thai authorities by passing on
useful information." Interior Minister Chitchai said the
Queens remarks "will be the light to guide our work." Other
officials echoed the praise, while urging southerners to
provide information about militants.


6. (C) COMMENT: It has been extremely rare for a member of
the Royal Family to speak publicly about an ongoing situation
in the country. Historically, the Queen's formal public
speeches have been limited to her birthday, yet this is the
second time in less than six months that the Queen has made
formal remarks about the situation in the South. More
unusually, the Palace did not announce ahead of time that the
Queen would deliver the remarks or that the audience would be
televised.


7. (C) COMMENT continued: The Queen's remarks -- which we
would characterize as reserved, but resolute -- were quite
different in tone from her highly emotional November 16, 2004
speech (reftel) where she indicated that direct self-defense
measures were required to protect Buddhist Thais living in
the South. This time she did not single out the embattled
Buddhist population, but instead focused on all the innocent
victims of the "brutish" militants, and the potentially
devastating economic impact of the violence.


8. (C) COMMENT continued: While the tone for the Queen's
speech was different, her immediate audience for her remarks
was the same - the Village Scouts. The Scouts are a
nationalist organization, originally organized by the
government in the 1970s as a means to mobilize the rural
population against the communist insurgency. The Scouts,
with over 6.7 million members nationwide, organized a large
rally in support of the Government following the Queen's
November remarks. Some local observers have expressed
concern that the Scouts -- who have a history of violence
towards those seen as opposing the government -- could
aggravate the situation in the south by encouraging
nationalist sentiment among the Thai populace, while further
alienating southern Muslims. By keeping the Scouts in the
picture, the Queen runs the risk of doing just that.


9. (C) COMMENT continued: The most striking line of the
speech seemed to be delivered directly to the Scouts; "I
still remember the pledge of allegiance that all of you have
uttered before His Majesty the King and myself that you will
be loyal to the Nation, the Religion, and the Monarchy, and
will defend the country." To Thai ears "the Religion" means
one thing, Buddhism. While not explicitly doing so, the
Queen could be interpreted by some as again having issued a
call to action -- to defend Buddhists. END COMMENT


10. (U) An official transcript of the Queen's remarks was
not released. The following is an informal Embassy
translation based on excerpts carried in the Thai language
press:

BEGIN INFORMAL TRANSCRIPT/TRANSLATION

"I invite all of you here today in order to seek your
cooperation. I had pondered for a few days before I decided
to invite you to meet me today mainly because of my grave
concern about the situation in our country, particularly a
spate of simultaneous bombings in various places in Hat Yai
District, Songkhla province. Hat Yai has had a number of
tourists and we have ever benefited from revenues from
tourism. If we allow these tragic incidents to continue
spreading, our incomes from tourism will dramatically
decrease and our national economy will collapse.

I did not feel frightened in the face of massive natural
disaster caused by Tsunami tidal waves in December 2004
because it was a natural disaster. But I do feel that the
bombings at the airport and elsewhere have severely
undermined our economy and affected the overall living and
careers of the people.

I still remember the pledge of allegiance that all of you
have uttered before His Majesty the King and myself that you
will be loyal to the Nation, the Religion, and the Monarchy,
and will defend the country. I would like to ask you to
take this pledge as "words of truth" that will inspire us to
get ready to protect our country. Please don't be a silent
force indifferent to prevalent tragic incidents in the
country.

Now, our southern provinces have gravely suffered not only
from natural disasters but also from abnormal and cruel
people who can kill human beings like fish or vegetables as
you already know. I volunteered and took the Royal Command
(from His Majesty the King) to travel to Thaksin Ratchanives
Palace for two months' stay in September and October 2004.
His Majesty the King and I normally stay in the southern
region for one or one and a half months at a time, but this
last time I did not feel like returning (North) at the usual
time because I had witnessed the hardship and untold
suffering of our people. I therefore extended my stay up to
2 months. I have always asked for cooperation from all of
you, from the government and private sectors as well as NGOs
who attended a previous gathering at this Dusitdalai Hall (in
November 2004),to brainstorm and extend our heartfelt
support and assistance to our sisters and brothers in the 3
southern provinces in order to comfort them with our concern
and understanding of their sufferings.

But there still remains outbursts of violent incidents
against authorities and villagers, who have shared the same
destiny. The most recent ones were the bombing at the
international airport in Hat Yai District, Songkhla province,
and simultaneous bombings of a department store and a hotel
in the province, resulting in several deaths. It is evident
that this group of inhumane persons has intentionally killed
the innocent without caring whether they are women, elderly,
or children. This is evidently an act of brutes who have no
religion, no morality, no humanity, and who are capable of
doing violent and cruel things that normal people cannot.
These people have no sympathy for anyone else.
I believe these people not only deliberately intended to kill
others but have also conspired against the country. For such
unabated violent incidents would give our country an
unattractive and poor look and scare away visitors who could
not possibly feel safe in the face of incidents of bombings.
I therefore think it is now time for me to talk clearly to
you about the grave dangers now plaguing Thailand, especially
the persistent bombings which damage the Thai economy and
tourism despite the rich and beautiful national resources
found in Thailand.

When I hear lately about an increase in daily killing from
one to 4-5 cases a day, and recently about even more frequent
bombings, I feel that our country is in real danger. I am
reminded of your pledge to defend the country and the Thai
people uttered before His Majesty the King at a time when I
don't know who else to turn to for help.

I have no specific proposal, and never think of mobilizing
all of you to take up weapons to kill anyone, because we are
all Thai compatriots and not duty-bound to suppress one
another with arms. I would merely like to ask you not remain
idle, for your idleness could do great harm to the country.
Rather, we must show that we realize the dangers facing the
country and demonstrate understanding of years of suffering
by our southern compatriots. I think it is the Thai people's
duty to defend the country and jointly condemn these inhuman
and cruel acts of assaulting and killing innocent people at
Thailand's expense. We must also be silently vigilant and
act like ears and eyes for state authorities to monitor any
unusual activities.

We must help keep our compatriots from getting killed,
injured, maimed and being prevented from working for their
livelihood. We all have to protect all official properties
procured with taxes from the people. All Thais and the armed
forces have to preserve legal sanctity by non-violent means
in order to restore peace to the south as soon as possible so
that our brothers and sisters in the south can live safely
and normally pursue their occupations. In so doing, we can
unify our efforts and thinking and combine forces to denounce
any hostile act that could gravely affect the country. We
cannot simply stay idle, as we have already pledged to defend
the country. If we are able to comply with our pledge,
every sector will be happy because of our mutual care.

You should try to think and consult among you to determine
whether it is time and appropriate for all of us to be united
and not to stay idle or silent regardless of any bombing or
whatever happens. We cannot just leave these
responsibilities solely to the government but must join
forces to help one another and protect Thailand without
holding any weapon. I really hope that all of you who vowed
to defend the country, and on whom I have pinned much hope,
will unite your efforts to defend your country, to show your
gratitude to your homeland, and to build the country for our
new generations."

END INFORMAL TRANSCRIPT/TRANSLATION
BOYCE